Waking Up to Stars
by DarkSideCaptive
Summary: It's been 1500 years and Arthur has finally returned to a world so unlike his. Lost, he must find Merlin, who has managed to stay hidden for 15 centuries, Merlin, who of course, is not really hiding at all. The idiot. Celebrity!Merlin/Arthur MxM
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm alive. I know, shocking! I'm still working on The King and The Slave, I just got sidetracked by this one! I've become a masssssssive Merlin fan, and this idea just came to me while I was laying in bed, so I hope you guys enjoy it (: love you all! I'll update soon**

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Chapter 1: Waking Up

The last thing he remembered feeling was the drop of a tear on his forehead and the soft warmth that was spreading through his limbs. He remembered hearing Merlin shout, something between angry and heartbroken, his hands desperately clutching to his arms, his words foreign. He remembered looking at Merlin one last time, seeing the heartbroken, terrified look in his eyes. And then he didn't remember anything.

It felt like seconds and then suddenly, he could feel something. He could feel the pain in the back of his throat, like he was choking, and his limbs felt useless, floating by his side. His eyes were open, yet all he could see was blue, with specks of white. And then suddenly, his eyes burned. From what, he wasn't sure, but he did know he couldn't breathe. He opened his mouth to try and breathe in only to have his mouth filled with water.

_Water_

He was underwater. That made sense. Not really, but enough for Arthur to accept what was happening. He kicked with his feet, extending his arms forward to feel for the surface of the water. He had no idea how deep he was, or how he'd even got there, just that he needed air and he needed it now.

His arms finally broke through and he came sputtering, coughing, and gagging to the surface. He looked wildly around, all at the same as trying to breathe and being unsuccessful at it.

"_Jared! Holy cr- look! There! In the water!"_

Arthur really couldn't breathe. And it was causing him to become weak. His arms slowly stopped trying to keep him above the surface and he could feel himself blacking out, something that was all too familiar to him these days.

"_He's drowning!" _Arthur could hear someone say, as someone else yelled at them to stop. He could hear a splash nearby, and that was all he heard before he slipped underwater, exhausted.

The next thing he knew, there was a mouth pressed against his and hands on his chest.

"_Is it working?" _

"_I don't know."_

The second voice, which sounded closer to him, kept whispering "Come on, come on", and there was a constant thumping on his chest.

Finally, the pressure in his chest gave away and he spit out the water that was pooling in his throat. He coughed, the man that had been sitting on him jumping off as Arthur came to a sitting position. He gagged, feeling awful.

"He's alive!" The younger one behind the first one exclaimed. The first one didn't seem so ecstatic. He was merely focused on the man in front of him.

Finally, when all the water seemed to have left his lungs, Arthur looked up at the young boys, one of which was kneeling beside him, asking if he was okay. Arthur simply nodded, trying to thank the boy, but the words came out raspy.

The first one offered to help him up, and Arthur gladly took the hand, pulling himself to his feet. He took a minute to take in the two boys, who he should mention were very oddly dressed. The older looking one, the one who had been on top of him, had dark brown hair, which was soaked and plastered to the side of his forehead. His eyes were dark, almost as dark as Guinevere's. He wore what looked to be a shirt, cotton maybe, with half of its sleeves missing. It was blue, with a weird design of maybe a bird on the front of it. His pants were blue, a darker blue than his shirt and were made out of some weird fabric Arthur wasn't quite familiar with. There were pockets in weird places and a strange metal thing on the front, where his ties should be.

The other boy was dressed similarly on the lower half, but his upper half was covered in what looked to be a baggy tunic with a hood on the back and a strange pocket-like thing in the front, where the boy was currently resting his hands in.

The first boy opened his mouth to say something, but Arthur cut him short, jabbing a finger at his shirt, "Is that a, a bird?"

The boy looked down, furrowing his eyebrows and looking back up at Arthur like he'd grown a second head, "Um, yes, actually."

"What fabric are those?" Arthur pointed to the pants.

The boy again looked confused, "Jeans. Um, are you okay? Do you need to sit down?"

"Jeans," Arthur whispered, repeating the word.

"Maybe we should take him to see mom?" The second boy whispered, as if Arthur couldn't hear him, and the first boy nodded.

"Our mom's a nurse. We live right across the street," He pointed over Arthur's shoulder. Maybe you should back with us. Just to make sure you're okay."

"Nurse?" Arthur whispered. What on earth was that?

The boys didn't really wait for an answer, just slowly started walking in the direction behind him, one of them whispering to the other about how oddly dressed Arthur was. Him? They should look in a mirror. Arthur turned around, expecting to see woods.

He froze. In front of him, not more than ten feet away, was a black strip. It looked to be hard, and it was several feet wide, with yellow lines in the middle. Beyond that was a house, as large as the wealthiest house in Camelot. It was made of white stone, and several strange looking windows covered it. The grass was green and cut short, and a few random decorations, the likes of which Arthur had never seen, covered the lawn.

The boys paused – they must think he was so strange – and waited for him.

He stepped foot onto the black strip, surprised by how cold it was. He looked down to realize he was barefoot, wearing brown trousers and a white tunic, the same thing he had been wearing under his armor during the battle.

The boys led him to what looked like a very large door, lifting some flap and pressing buttons. Arthur jumped back as the door started to open vertically instead of horizontally, making a large, very unfriendly sound. In the middle of this room was a strange, metal, shiny looking thing. He couldn't even describe it, it was just strange.

"Uh, what is that?" Arthur pointed at the metal thing.

"It's a Toyota Camry. I think a 2001. I'm not sure." The older one answered, pausing by a smaller door which Arthur assumed lead to the rest of their home.

"A Toyota Camry?"

"Yeeeeah." The boy said slowly, his tone almost mocking.

They led him inside, Arthur stopping every few minutes to take in the surroundings. There were odd looking machines and shiny surfaces all around him. None of which he recognized. The boys gestured him into a different room, which was covered by a very large rug. A rug so large it covered the entire floor.

He saw a couch on the left side, facing a flat, black object. He knew what a couch was, that made him feel better and he moved to sit on it.

The boys were still awkwardly standing in the corner of the room. The oldest one moved towards the stairs that were just in view at the end of the hallway, "I'm going to get mom. Put the T.V. on or something for him."

The youngest boy nodded, reaching for a long silver object that had several black buttons on top of it. He pressed a few buttons and suddenly a picture – a _moving _picture – appeared on the flat, black object. Sound emitted from it and the pictures danced in front of him, showing him a few oddly dressed men riding horses towards a strange thing in the sky.

"_Cowboys vs. Aliens!_ I love this movie! Have you seen it?" The boy sat down next to him on the couch.

Arthur couldn't recall a time where he had been more confused.

A young woman, attractive, with her long blonde hair braided neatly behind her back, as Guinevere always had, appeared in the doorway. "Hello," she whispered as if afraid she'd scare him off, "my name is Sarah. My boys told me they found you in the lake."

"We saved him!" The youngest one piped out.

"Shhh, Dylan." She gestured for him to calm down and returned her attention back to Arthur, "They said you were unconscious for a bit. I'm a nurse and it's just a procedure to check if everything is okay. I'm just gonna ask you a few questions, ok?"

"Ok." Arthur whispered. He wasn't stupid. She should stop talking to him like he was a child.

"What's your name?" She sat on the couch across from him.

"Arthur." He said slowly. She should know this. How did she not recognize him?

She seemed taken back by that name, but said nothing. "What day is it?"

He thought back to the battle, what day had it been then? Well, they had rode out on Tuesday, stayed two nights before the battle. Then Merlin had spent two nights with him trying to get him to that island. So that would be…

"Saturday."

Her forehead creased, "Actually it's Wednesday. Do you know what the date is?"

Arthur tried to do the math again in his head, but she interrupted "It's November 3rd"

"November?" He whispered.

"Do you know the year?"

He looked around at the large house, the strange machines, and the odd rug, and the way these people were dressed and he was almost afraid to answer.

"It's 2013…"

His heart stopped, he felt his stomach drop. 2013? That was over 2000 years from the last date he remembered. There was no way, absolutely no way, it could be 2013. Where was Guinevere? Where was Merlin? What had happened to him? He looked up, losing his annoyed look and replacing it with a look of complete confusion, complete loss. "What?"

"2013. The year is 2013. You know that right?" She whispered carefully.

"That's not right. No. No." He looked down at his hands, "Where are we? And how do you not recognize me?"

"I'm sorry?" She glanced over at her two boys, "Um, we're in Wales."

"Wales?" He stood up. "I don't know what's going on. Surely you know me. Or at least heard of me." She didn't say anything so he continued, "Arthur? King Arthur?"

"King Arthur?" She laughed, covering her mouth immediately and apologizing under her breath. "King Arthur from the legends, King Arthur?"

Arthur looked at her, as if she was stupid.

"King Arthur and Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table? That legend?"

Arthur threw up his hands, dropping back down on the couch, "_Merlin! _Speaking of him, where the hell is he? Maybe he can explain all this bullshit"

"Language, please. Not around them." She gestured to her two children, "Listen, King Arthur was a legend. And even if he wasn't, he would have died thousands of years ago."

"Well that's funny, because I'm standing right in front of you so clearly I didn't."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Merlin was trying to get me to this island cause I had be-"

"Merlin the wizard?" Dylan offered.

"How does everyone know he has magic? Literally, I seemed to have been the only person who didn't know."

Sarah stared at him for a little longer before she offered a small smile, "Well excuse me for a minute, _Arthur, _I need to make a phone call."

As she stood, Jared went to follow her. He could hear them talking, barely, but he could. The mother was mentioning something about calling her friend at the hospital and taking him there to see someone. He had no idea what a hospital was, but from the sound of Jared's voice, it wasn't a good thing.

"No! Mom! What if he's telling the truth? We did find him in the middle of the lake. He came out of nowhere. Seriously. We were just sitting on the shore and all of a sudden, Dylan's screaming at me that there is a man drowning. Just out there. "

"Honey, I love you, but he's clearly insane. And I don't feel comfortable having him in my house."

"So you're gonna lock him up in the mental hospital? Mom, come on. Give him a chance."

"How do you suggest I do that, Jared? Sit down and listen to his great adventures of Merlin the wizard?"

There was a silence and then the sound of snapping fingers, "That man! At the library, you know, the one that's always sitting in the back. He's always talking about the Arthurian legends. Maybe we could meet with him? Have him talk to him."

"Are you suggesting that you think that man in there is actually someone from 2000 years ago?"

"No," he paused, "But mom, please, just meet with the guy first. Maybe the guy can convince him that he isn't Arthur. If he's still going on and on about it, then you can call the hospital."

"I'm sorry, son. No. I'm calling."

"Then I'm taking him." And with that, Jared appeared in the hallway. "Come on, man."

Arthur was reluctant to stand, but going with Jared seemed like a better option than staying here. He stood, brushing his hand on his trousers.

"Jared. Don't you dare leave this house!" Her voice was near hysterical as she followed Jared out the door they had come in through, Arthur close behind her. Jared continued to ignore her, fishing through his pockets for keys, the strangest keys Arthur had ever seen but keys nevertheless.

"Jared, listen to me! You stop right there!" Arthur brushed past her and suddenly her hand clasped around his bicep, "Don't you dare get in that car with my son! Do you hear me?"

He didn't think right now was an appropriate time to ask her what on God's name was a car.

Jared tapped on his arm then gestured to the open door. Arthur carefully shook her hand off his arm and walked out the door, his mother hysterically crying, which in Arthur's mind was completely unnecessary.

Jared walked down to the side of the street to another odd-looking piece of metal. Arthur paused, pointing to it. "Toyota Camry, right?"

Jared laughed, unlocking the door and opening it for Arthur, "No, just a plain old truck", Arthur hesitated before climbing into the vehicle. Jared pressed the key into the strange whole and turned, the entire machine jumping to life, rumbling under Arthur. Arthur grabbed the side of the 'truck', his heart in his throat, what the hell was this contraption, "I guess I understand now why you ask all those silly questions."

Arthur laughed, "So you believe me?"

He shrugged, and suddenly the truck lurched forward, making Arthur a nervous wreck. Jared laughed, "To some degree. I mean it's kind of far fetched, but anything's possible, right?"

Arthur didn't say another word and they rode in silence for the next ten minutes. Arthur was still desperately clutching to the side of the car for his dear life, especially now that they were surrounded by several 'cars' on a too-thin road.

"If you are who you say you are…and the legends are true," he made a turn onto a less busy street, "then…you could say I'm a huge fan."

Arthur smiled and Jared returned it. Arthur turned back to look out at the window. There were hundreds of advanced looking buildings, floors high, higher than his castle, with thousands of windows. People were walking around, wearing strange clothes and holding strange devices to their ears, talking into them as if the device could hear them. It was all too much and Arthur turned his eyes to stare at his hands. He felt frustration at his core, and though Arthur could never admit it, he felt his eyes began to sting from tears. What was this world he had been sucked into? Where was the world he had known, had loved? Where was his wife?

When they did pull up to what Arthur assumed was the library, he had managed to calm himself down. He followed Jared into the library, waiting while he stopped to talk to the guy at the front desk, and then followed him to the second floor of the library. The library itself was something familiar to Arthur, it gave him comfort – the smell of old books and dusty shelves.

In the back, against the wall, with a hardbound book laying open in his lap, was an old man, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He glanced up as they approached him. For a moment, just for a moment, Arthur thought he recognized him, but it was gone. Perhaps he looked familiar, and the more Arthur thought about it the more Arthur realized the man looked liked Dragoon the Great. Except Dragoon the Great was really Merlin and that caused a painful feeling in his gut.

"Mr. White?" Jared said in a hushed voice, "Can we join you?"

The man – Mr. White – looked confused for a moment before nodding and gesturing to the table nearby. He slowly stood to his feet, closing the thick book, and followed Jared to the table.

He took a moment to fold his glasses up and set them on the table in front of him. Arthur sat directly in front of him, his hands in his laps.

Jared cleared his throat, glancing at Arthur before he turned his full attention back to Mr. White. "This is a bit of….an odd situation. But I want you to hear me out before you judge, okay? I mean, if you don't mind."

The man leaned back in his chair, nodding, "I'm listening."

"You know a lot about the Arthurian legends, right? I mean I kind of assumed because you're always talking about it," he paused to measure the man's reaction before continuing, "Do you, honestly, like seriously, believe that Arthur could be reincarnated?"

The man took a moment, letting a small smile slip onto his face. "In answer to your question, no. Reincarnation suggests that Arthur would return in a new body and begin a new life. The legends suggest he will return, not reincarnate. Arthur will return in his original body. If the legends are correct, of course."

"Reason I ask…" he laughed to himself, "you're gonna think I'm insane. But this guy," Jared pointed to Arthur, "says he is Arthur."

The man leaned forward all of a sudden, grabbing his glasses and hurriedly placing them on his nose. He suddenly stood, moving over to a bookshelf. He grabbed a book off of it, sat back down, cracking it open in front of him. His fingers traced the lines of the books, his eyes scanning.

"The only description it ever gave of Arthur was a man of shorter stature, blonde, beard," he mumbled to himself more than the other two men.

"I've never had a beard. Guinevere didn't like the look of it." Arthur stated absentmindedly.

Mr. White looked up at Arthur, "Young man, what makes you think you are Arthur?"

"I don't think it. I know it. And I know it cause I am." Arthur groaned in frustration. "Ask me anything. I'll know. Just ask."

Mr. White shook his head. "I'm not going to quiz you. So you really are King Arthur?"

"You can close those books and I can recite to you everything that happened. The Knights and the Round Table, Merlin, Guinevere. I can tell you anything about anyone," Arthur's glare was intense, willing him to believe him. Wishing with everything that someone would believe him.

And that's how it happened. Arthur relayed to him the memory of the battles he had fought, the people he had saved, the laws he had enforced. The entire time Mr. White and Jared sat back and listened. But by the end, and after answering a million questions even though Mr. White told him he wouldn't quiz him, he thought he had them convinced.

"Well…" Mr. White laughed, "Tickle me pink. I never thought I would be able to come face to face with the true Arthur. I am a fan, you know. Now you probably will have no luck trying to convince others who you are. People aren't near as believing as the people of your time."

Arthur smiled, how he had managed to convince them, he'll never know, "Ok. Thank you."

"I have so many questions for you." Jared laughed.

"I think I actually have a few questions for you, Mr. White." Arthur whispered.

Mr. White's eyebrows shot up, "Questions for me? Shouldn't I be the one asking you questions?"

"Guinevere…what happened to her? Do you know?"

"Legends say she never remarried. She died a natural death, in her sleep." He said sympathetically. "She kept Camelot at peace for many years."

Arthur pressed his face into his hands. "And she won't return, will she?"

Mr. White shook his head slowly, "I'm afraid not."

"What of Merlin?" He grimaced at the thought, having come so close to experiencing it with him before, "How did he pass? When he did die?"

Mr. White's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" He laughed, "How am I supposed to know? Apparently, I've been in a coma for the last 15 centuries."

"Well, I should start off by asking if the legends are true in saying Merlin was a sorcerer?"

"He was. He had magic." Arthur looked at him like he was an idiot, maybe just to make himself feel better that he didn't know that himself for the longest time.

"Well, Merlin himself is magic. The name given to him by the Druids – Emrys – means immortal. He has always been immortal. That's why even though he was an old man when you met him, as the years passed he never detoriated in healt-"

"Old man?" Arthur laughed, "He was younger than me!"

Mr. White looked confused for a minute. "Merlin was young when you met him? No, no, no, the legends have always depicted him as an older man with long, white hair and a beard even longer than yours."

"I never had a beard. Neither did Merlin. And he had short, black hair." He felt like he was talking to a child.

"I wonder why he was written as an old man in the legends."

"Either way, you said he's immortal?"

"Oh yes. Merlin never died. In any of the legends. Well except for in the legends where he was not a person of magic. But most of the legends wrote of him wandering, waiting for you to return. They've had different explanations of how he has gone unnoticed, but I'm not sure which of the legends are true." He was rambling and Arthur had quite honestly stopped listening several minutes ago.

"Merlin is alive though?" He interrupted.

"If the legends are true, yes. He's been alive this whole time."

"Merlin has been alive for over 1500 years?" Arthur said slowly, "How is that even possible?"

It was still weird for him to think of Merlin as being a powerful sorcerer, let alone an immortal, powerful sorcerer. To him, Merlin was still his manservant. His lanky, too clumsy, too daft manservant, who was sometimes his wisest advisor and sometimes, more times than not, the bravest man he had ever met. Merlin was still his best friend, though Arthur would never tell him that. Merlin wasn't the man who had bent over him, eyes gold, and foreign words escaping his lips.

"I'm not sure. No one is. And not many people believe he still exists. I'm not sure I even did for the longest time. Why would God punish someone to walk alone on this dreadful earth for eternity?"

Suddenly, Jared stood, his phone to his ear. "Hey mom," he held a finger up to Arthur and Mr. White before stepping away from the table.

There was silence for a moment before Mr. White leaned forward, "What are you going to do?"

"Good question." Arthur laughed. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do or why I'm even here."

Mr. White nodded, "I don't know either. I…think…I think you should find Merlin. If he is still around, he, and only he, will know what to do."

"How do I find him?"

"I don't know. Merlin has managed to stay out of the spotlight for centuries. He's managed to keep people from questioning him. To slip through decades, looking the same, and still be undetected, it's truly remarkable."

Arthur was starting to feel the familiar panic rising in him again and with everything he had, he shoved it back down. "The lake that he pulled me out of," he gestured in Jared's direction, "Do you think Merlin could still be waiting there?"

Mr. White lit up, standing quickly and rushing over to find a book. He brought it back, flipping through the pages and stopping on one in particular. "Here, is that the lake?"

Arthur followed his finger to the picture it was pointing at. There was an island in the distance, the one Arthur recognized as the island Merlin had been trying desperately to get him to, surrounded by a lake. There in the corner of the picture, sitting on the shore, was an old man, his face gazing out over the lake. In another picture, it was a close up of the man, who was standing now instead of sitting, his eyes still looking over the lake.

"They weren't sure who that man was. Many Arthurian fans thought it might be Merlin. That same man was spotted several times just waiting by that lake. He waited for years."

"He wasn't there when…"

"The last time he was spotted was over a hundred years ago. He's kind of an unsolved mystery."

Then he remembered. He remembered the man standing on the cliffs, bringing lightening down from the sky. The same old man that had seemed so strange to him before, that man had been Merlin. He pointed back at the picture. "That is Merlin. That's him."

Mr. White peered down at him. "You're sure?"

"Yes. No doubt."

"Then he is alive. And we will find him."

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**So should I continue? Review and let me know :) **


	2. Chapter 2

_Finding You_

A week later, things had changed. Mr. White had suggested Arthur come home with him, since Jared's mother would never allow Arthur back into the house. Jared had reluctantly agreed, and had left after giving Arthur a few numbers on the back of a piece of paper (which he had later learned to be a phone number). It hadn't taken long to move Arthur into Mr. White's house, considering he didn't really have anything of his own to bring. Mr. White even suggested that Arthur change his name, since Arthur wasn't a name commonly heard anymore.

He had decided upon Bradley. Bradley James. There was no real reason behind the name. Some of the characters in the books he had been reading from Mr. White's bookshelf had that name. He just liked it, he didn't know why.

Mr. White made a fuss over buying clothes for him, but the clothes still felt strange and awkward on him. They were odd fabrics, fitting him strangely and scratching him in weird places. Mr. White spent most of his time reading, sitting in that stuffy room of his and flipping through book after book, trying to find Merlin.

But there was no luck. Merlin was not found and those weeks turned into months.

Arthur grew bored with staying inside the house. Sometimes he would wander around town, trying to figure out what the numerous shops meant, what the signs meant. He spent some of his time inside a local pub, which was different than the tavern Merlin and him had spent countless nights in, but it was mostly the same and that comforted him.

They had a strange device that showed words to a song on a T.V. and another strange device that seemed to amplify a person's voice when they sang into it. They called it karaoke. And Arthur spent most of his time watching this as people seemed to make fools out of themselves.

He spent months like this. Months feeling a stranger in an alien world. Every morning he woke up feeling empty and afraid. And no matter how much he learned to accept this world and all the strange things in it, he didn't feel like he belonged. He would sit in his room, propped up on his bed, thinking, just thinking of old times. He felt lost and confused and alone. Mr. White proved to be good company and they had supper together almost every night, but it wasn't the same. He asked Arthur a lot of questions about Camelot and Merlin, but Arthur couldn't answer them anymore. It pained him too much. There had never been a time where Merlin wasn't at his side. He missed Guinevere, he did, she was his wife after all, but something felt so wrong about being without Merlin. Merlin had been there, beside him, through everything since the day he had met him.

At one point, he had even had Mr. White drive him out to the lake just so he could stand on the shore. Part of him hoped Merlin would be there, just waiting for him with that bright smile of his that of course Arthur hated. Of course. But he wasn't and instead Arthur spent the better half of the hour just letting sand fall through the cracks of his hands and watching the tall steeple in the center of the island.

One night at the pub, Arthur was just sitting at the bar, drinking a glass of water because for once he really didn't feel like drinking, watching two girls sing their hearts out. They were barely dressed, wearing that stupid jean material as a skirt that cut off right below their crotch. It wasn't attractive to him. It was immodest and stupid.

Suddenly, someone bumped into his elbow, causing him to spill his water. Annoyed, Arthur yelled over his shoulder, "Watch were you're going, idiot."

The man stopped mid-laugh, his face instantly turning apologetic. "Hey, I'm sorry, man. I didn't see you there," when his apology did nothing to wipe the sour face off Arthur, he held his hands up, "truly sorry. But hey, you look seriously familiar."

"I've never met you." Arthur said before turning back to order another drink.

"You're here all the time." The guy pointed out. "You never talk to anyone. And you always look sour."

He swears this could be the reincarnation of Merlin if he didn't know better. He shrugged, "Well it doesn't seem to be bugging anyone."

"I'm Kyle." He held his hand out to Arthur, expecting some kind of response.

_I'm Merlin. _

He shook his head and then shook the man's hand. "I'm Ar-Bradley. Bradley James."

Kyle took a seat next to him and ordered a beer. "Are you from around here?"

Arthur laughed, taking a sip of his drink, "Not exactly."

"Where from then?"

Arthur ignored the question, messing with the napkin under his drink, ripping off the corners and rolling them into little balls in between his fingers, "Are you from around here?"

Kyle nodded eagerly. "Well, I go to school here. I'm originally from America. I'm studying abroad."

"America?" He bit his tongue, immediately after saying it. He wasn't supposed to bring suspicion to himself, "I haven't been to America before."

"You're not missing much." Kyle laughed, "I love it here. I mean America isn't bad, it's just I needed a change of scenery."

"I can understand that."

"So what's up with you? Why you always look so down? Broken heart, maybe?"

"Something like that." Arthur responded, throwing another paper bowel on the counter, "You know, you remind me a lot of my friend. It's….nice."

"This friend must be pretty awesome." Kyle joked, downing the rest of his drink.

"He was completely oblivious to social boundaries, too. No offense. The first time I met him, I was a complete prat. And he didn't even care." He looked over to Kyle, who looked slightly offended, "No! I mean. Damn. I'm really bad at the whole friends thing."

"I can tell." Kyle laughed, "You talk about your friend in past tense."

It wasn't a question, but Arthur felt like it was asking for an answer, "Yeah. We haven't talked or seen each other in a long time."

Kyle nodded, "I have some friends like that. Ever since I came here, we don't talk. It's like they forgot about me."

There was an awkward moment of silence before Kyle spoke up, "You know, man, I don't do this very often, but you seem lonely as shit and my buddy is having a party, do you wanna come?"

Arthur blinked at him, studied him. He normally wouldn't go anywhere with a complete stranger, but this man reminded him of Merlin. And as much as hated to admit it, he missed Merlin or really anything familiar. He nodded, waiting as Kyle paid. He stopped as soon as he dropped the dollar bill, "You're not a murderer are you?"

"Not that I know of." Arthur tried to smile, but it looked pain.

"Good. Now let's go, _Brad_ley."

And that is the beautiful tale of how Arthur (Bradley) became friends with Kyle.

Of course, Kyle ended up introducing him to Mike, his roommate. And there was something about those two that just made it easy for Arthur. They were easy to be around, easy to talk to, and everything Arthur needed right now. They took him places, to bars, to clubs, to sporting games. They introduced him to music that he had never heard and it was loud and the singing was too fast for him to even understand what they were saying. They were huge fans of Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus, posters hanging everywhere in their two bedroom apartment.

Mr. White encouraged him to continue hanging out with Mike and Kyle. Told him it was better to distract himself with friends until they could find Merlin. Of course, Merlin, the _idiot, _was nowhere to be found which was upsetting to Arthur, but he tried not to focus on it.

Then, six months after Arthur had came gasping to the surface, he found himself sitting on Kyle's couch, a beer in hand, sitting among some of his best mates and trying to imagine them as Merlin and Gwaine. They were talking about the most random of things like girls, and sports, and everything Arthur had learned to talk about in the last few months.

The T.V. was in the background, playing some talk show about the people who were considered "famous" (something Arthur had recently learned about). It was just background noise to them at moment, but then there was a lapse in conversation, Arthur's beer raised to his lips. Kyle reached to turn the volume up, leaning back and resting his feet on the coffee table.

"_- to Splitsville, USA, population: two. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth officially called it quits. Oh em gee, is there such a thing as Hollywood love, people! I'm your host, Chelsea Briggs coming to you from Hollywood and you're watching Hollywood Hot Minute"_

Kyle laughed, taking another sip of his beer. "I'll tell you what, I don't blame him. After the VMAS, I would have dumped her too."

Mike poked his head in from around the corner where he had been doing dishes in the kitchen, "Are you talking about Miley Cyrus?"

"Yes." Kyle laughed again, "She's up for grabs now."

Mike smirked, before his eyes caught something on T.V. and he groaned, wiping his hands on the washcloth he was holding. He gestured to the T.V., "I want to go to his concert so bad."

"Aren't tickets like five hundred dollars?"

"Yes. And for crappy seats."

Arthur turned his attention to the T.V. to see what they were talking about. The annoying reporter was apparently talking about some concert that was happening nearby.

"_-was seen greeting fans at the airport. Morgan will be playing at the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield tomorrow night, where tickets are said to be sold out. He will –"_

Just then, in the corner of the screen, a picture of the singer appeared, causing Arthur to choke on his beer. He coughed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. There, in the picture, was none other than his manservant, Merlin. His hair was cropped short like Arthur had always remembered him having, his teeth were painfully white, and his skin flawless. He wore a black t-shirt, and his arm wrapped around a young fan and despite the two thousand years that had passed, he didn't look any older than when Arthur had last seen him.

Arthur was sure that was _him_. There wasn't a doubt in his mind. His mate asked if he was okay and all Arthur could manage was a nod, a finger pointed towards the T.V. and a weak, "Who is that?"

"Who? Him?" Kyle pointed to the T.V. where they showed a picture of Merlin posing with a young girl, her eyes puffy from crying. "That's Colin Morgan, man. You haven't heard of him?"

Arthur shook his head. Mike laughed behind him, "then you've been living under a rock. He's an amazing singer. Like he's not anything like Justin Bieber or those other gay ass boy bands. We listen to him in the car all the time," Arthur took a moment to think back to the numerous songs they listened to in the car, none had sounded like Merlin. And Merlin could sing? Since when? "His concert's tomorrow," he sighed, "like I said, I wanted to go."

Arthur stood, a little shaky, and looked down at Kyle, "Can you drive me home?"

Kyle's eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded, "yeah sure, man. You okay? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine." Arthur just headed towards the door, while a worried Kyle followed.

The ride home was awkward. Kyle kept attempting to make conversation, but all of Arthur's answers were short and rushed. The entire time he just tapped his fingers on his knee and looked out his window at the passing trees. Kyle mentioned something about the pub that night, but Arthur didn't pay attention. He just gave a short wave and sped to the door, fishing his keys out of his pocket and nearly dropping them in the process. How could Merlin be that guy on the screen? It had looked exactly like him, but it didn't make sense for Merlin to_ hide_ in the _spotlight._

As soon as the door was open, Arthur was down the hallway yelling, "Mr. White!"

The man came out of his study, his glasses on the edge of his nose, and a thick book in hand, "Arthur, what on earth are you hollering about!?"

"Merlin." He breathed, "I found Merlin."

Mr. White closed his book, readjusting his glasses as he gave Arthur a strange look, "Are you sure? Where is he?"

"Morgan, um, Chris. No, no, oh!" He snapped his fingers, "Colin Morgan. The, er, singer?"

Mr. White turned to walk back into his study, sinking into his chair by his desk. He was silent for a moment, before he turned back to look at Arthur, "Colin Morgan, huh?"

"I'm pretty sure. I'd have to see another picture to know for sure."

"Well I suppose that would make sense. I'm shocked I didn't think of that before." He scratched his chin.

"How? How does it make sense for him to hide where everyone can see him? Such an idiot." Arthur laughed. Because of course, _of course_ Merlin wouldn't hide.

"He's not hiding. That's the point," Mr. White folded his hands in front of him, "He's out in the open where _you_ can find him. No matter where you are. He made himself an international superstar, that way it'd be almost impossible for you to miss him. Genius, actually." He gestured him to his side, pulling open his laptop (which was still a bit strange to Arthur) and typing into the search bar "Colin Morgan". Arthur hadn't thought about the fact that maybe that's what Merlin was trying to do. He was eliminating the amount of time that Arthur would have to spend searching for him.

Mr. White leaned back, "30 million hits," he chuckled, "here, click on images", suddenly a thousand pictures of Merlin, er, Colin Morgan came onto screen. He was exactly the same Merlin Arthur remembered. Same smile, same kind eyes, he just looked wiser and maybe sadder. Arthur had started to notice Merlin changing a few months before the battle that had claimed his life. He hadn't looked the same way as he used to.

Mr. White moved, gesturing for Arthur to sit down in front of the computer. Arthur clicked on the first picture, a headshot of Merlin smiling at something off screen. His smile was the same, his hair a little longer in this picture than the one Arthur had seen on T.V., and very little stubble growing around his mouth. He looked different, but the same all at once.

He clicked on the next one, which was a picture of Merlin with a microphone (like the ones he'd seen people use at Karaoke at the pub), singing, his eyes screwed shut, his mouth open. He had one hand outreached towards screaming fans who all looked to be clawing their way to him, a few having latched onto his wrist and refusing to let go. Here, he looked different. His hair was messier, sticking out in different directions that could be seen as attractive to fans. On his wrist was what looked to be a tattoo? Arthur didn't know. The Druids had had tattoos on their wrists, but Arthur had never pegged Merlin to be a guy who would ever get it done.

It was a sparrow, the wings and head on the underside of his wrist, while the tail and edge of the wings wrapped around to the other side so you could see it when his hand was face down. On his forearm, which was visible just enough in the picture to see he had tattoos, were some strange symbols, probably another language. On the inside of his arm, on the bicep, were two words in a language Arthur didn't understand.

The next picture was Merlin shirtless at a beach, pointing at something off screen. Arthur was stunned by his change. He had never really seen Merlin shirtless all that much, Merlin was usually a private person, but he had always imagined Merlin to be thin and wiry under his tunic. Arthur had always feared – well feared wasn't the right word – that someone would just break Merlin in half one day. In this picture, however, Merlin was different. He was angular and muscular, his abs defined and shoulders' broad. His arms held definition, and he looked healthy. Healthy and strong. On his ribs appeared to be a large tree, the trunk tattooed into his hip and the branches reaching as far as his shoulder blade. On his wrist was a small tattoo Arthur couldn't make out. The next picture was of him holding hands with an extremely attractive girl, a hat on his head and his face cast downwards.

"So is it him?" Mr. White said, causing Arthur to jump because honestly he had forgotten Mr. White was even there.

"Yeah, it's him." Arthur whispered.

"Here, click on that link." He pointed to the screen.

The link led him to a video site known as YouTube. He had been on it before thanks to Kyle and Mike constantly showing him videos of naked men running into glass or a guy freaking out over a double rainbow.

The video was of Merlin dancing, his body covered in sweat. He moved gracefully and quickly, the dance foreign to Arthur. There was a suggested video right below it of a girl asking a series of questions to Merlin. Another video of Merlin walking down the street, his hood up and avoiding all questions. Another one of him signing autographs. And another and another.

Mr. White eventually left the room and the house, talking about running errands and the rest of the night was spent watching YouTube videos of Merlin singing or walking down the street or waving to fans, stupid things that apparently were important to everyone else. Arthur brushed his hands through his bangs, feeling overwhelmed with everything. He clicked on a link that led to one of Merlin's songs, labeled _TKO_.

_Baby, everyday you're training to get the gold_

_That's why your body's crazy_

Now that Arthur was straining his ears for it, he could recognize Merlin's voice. His eyes scanned the words on the screen, and he couldn't believe Merlin would actually write something like this. It didn't seem like him

_I don't understand it, tell me how could you be so low?_

_Been swinging after the bell and after all of the whistle blows_

_Tried to go below the belt, through my chest_

_Perfect hit to the dome, dammit babe_

_This ain't the girl I used to know, no, not anymore_

He reached up, pressing on the search link and very, painfully slow typed in "Colin Morgan phone number". Nothing came up. He typed in address (which he had slowly learned about through Mr. White) and all it came up with was a picture of a castle like house.

Arthur listened to the rest of the song in frustration, then replayed it, and replayed it again. And again.

Eventually, Mr. White came back into the room, around midnight. He had a couple of Euros with him, which he proceeded to hand over to Arthur. "This should be enough to buy you a ticket to his concert."

"No, this is your savings."

"I don't care. You need him." He gestured to the screen and Arthur really didn't like the fact that people thought he _needed _Merlin. "There should be enough in there to get to the meet and greet. That will be your time to tell him it's you."

"Tickets are sold out, Mr. White."

"The initial tickets are. People always buy them at cheaper prices and then sell them online for more money. Here," He motioned for Arthur to get up as he took a seat in the chair, "I'll look."

Arthur paced the room, he didn't know what else to do. Thirty-five minutes later, Mr. White stood, "I'm printing your tickets right now," he smiled, "You're gonna see Merlin again."

Arthur wanted to hug Mr. White, he did, but he was horrible with affection so he just patted him on the shoulder and walked away.

Arthur set the tickets on his dresser and tried not to pay attention to them. He tried not to think about the fact that he had to buy tickets just to go see his manservant. That his _manservant_ could be that famous.

Mr. White pushed him to get his haircut the way he had it when Merlin had last seen him, that way Merlin would recognize him. He pushed him to pack up what clothes he did have because more than likely 'he would be going home with Merlin'.

The night before the concert was bittersweet as they sat down to dinner, Arthur across from Mr. White. Their last night together. Mr. White put the bowl of chili in front of him, sitting down across from him. Arthur didn't eat at first, instead stopped to acknowledge Mr. White, "Thank you."

Mr. White nodded.

"No really. I couldn't have gotten this far without you."

Mr. White looked up and they held eye contact for a moment, "I truly hope you find what it is you're destined for."

"Me too." Arthur whispered, slowly picking up the spoon to start eating.

They didn't say anything else. They didn't need to. Their relationship had always been simple, always understanding without words and Arthur was truly grateful for him.

The next morning, when Arthur woke up, Mr. White was already gone to the library. There was a note on his ticket on the counter that said "Good luck. Keep in touch" and his phone number just below it. Arthur smiled, stuffed it in his pocket and went to wait for Kyle, who had agreed to drop him off at the meet and greet at 5pm.

Five hours left.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Don't worry! I'm still working on my other story! This one is just coming a lot faster. Read and Review :) also since I forgot to include my disclaimer last time. Here:

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these songs or characters. BBC owns the Merlin characters and Justin Timberlake owns the songs. Also Bradley James and Colin Morgan are not real actors in this fanfiction. This is NOT an RPS.

* * *

Chapter 3: Finding My Way

When Kyle dropped him off, there were already thirty people in line. The line moved steadily though, each person getting their autograph and a picture and then moving on. Arthur was the only male in the whole line and that alone was starting to annoy him. Most of the fans were trembling with excitement and Arthur was just bewildered how someone could be so excited for his idiot of a manservant.

Except Merlin wasn't an idiot. He never really had been. He was the smartest and bravest man Arthur had ever met. In his last moments alive, he had seen that. He had seen Merlin stand taller than Morgana, his sword piercing her skin and tissues and organ. He had watched as Merlin had said his goodbyes, had glanced at Arthur as if worrying Arthur wouldn't approve of this new Merlin. Merlin had always been fragile and weak to him, and now he was the opposite of that. He was something much more than Arthur had ever imagined.

Just as Arthur was smiling to himself about memories he had had of times simpler than this, a person moved forward, allowing Arthur to finally come into full view of the room.

Against the back wall, a table was set up. A giant poster with a silhouette of a man was hung up behind it. And sitting there at the table, dressed in a long sleeve white shirt with his sleeves rolled up and dark blue jeans was _him_. Merlin.

Arthur felt something in him turn. Good or bad, he wasn't sure. He looked different, older, but at the same time younger. His eyes still crinkled when he smiled and he still gave that heart warming smile that Arthur was familiar with. It had always warmed him, made him feel like everything would be okay. He was more muscular, his arms and chest wide with strength.

Merlin stood to hug a fan, asking her where she was from and then signing her picture while she stood shaking. Arthur's eyes remained glued to him the entire time, willing Merlin to turn around and notice him. The girl in front of him in line was proving to be a distraction. She kept giggling to her friends and jumping up and down every damn time she moved up in line. He was starting to wish Merlin would notice him just so he could leave.

It wasn't until he was second in line that Merlin glanced up to judge how many people were left, his eyes roaming over the crowd, blue eyes skimming past Arthur. Immediately, he did a double take, eyes shooting back to Arthur, his hand falling from the girl's shoulder who was still trembling in excitement.

There was immediate recognition in his eyes, and pain. Unveiled, unrestrained pain. Merlin's personal assistant was saying something, but Arthur could tell he wasn't listening. He understood this must be a huge deal for Merlin. It had only been 6 months for Arthur. It had been 1500 years for Merlin. 1500 years of being alone.

Arthur stepped forward, towards Merlin, Merlin moving forward at the same time. He didn't' say anything, just reached forward, grabbing Arthur's bicep and yanking him forward. He pressed his face into the crook of Arthur's neck. Arthur's hand clapped Merlin on the back, but he could tell Merlin was struggling to hold emotions back. He could tell Merlin was on the edge of breaking.

Everything about Merlin felt different, and it made Arthur uneasy, but he tried not to focus on it.

He saw flashing out of the corner of his eye and realized people were videotaping them, he pulled back. Merlin's face looked wounded, and he used Arthur's body as a shield from the cameras. His eyes were different, having lost some of the light in them, but he looked better than when Arthur had last seen him, cowering over him, crying as he died.

"How…I…waited….how." Merlin was stammering.

"Merlin, you have _fans_ waiting." Arthur whispered, "And we'll discuss later how you managed to get fans."

"Colin. My name is Colin. Will you stay?" Merlin whispered, fiercely brushing a tear out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't be daft. Of course."

"I have just a few more fans. Can you wait for me please?" Merlin said when he pulled away. He motioned for a girl standing off to the side to come towards him, his personal assistant Arthur assumed. "This is a good friend of mine. Can you take him to the back until I'm done?"

"Yes, sir." She placed a hand on Arthur's arm and led him away. Arthur reluctantly left, a part of him fearful that if he left, he would never see Merlin again. And he would be alone again.

_Shut up, Arthur, stop being a girl. _He whispered to himself.

"What is your name? I don't think I caught it out there." The girl had led him into a back room, a large couch and table set up in the middle.

"Bradley. Bradley James." He looked around, his eyes falling on the tray of fruits and vegetables in the middle of the table with a note "Welcome, Colin!" written on it. He moved towards the couch, taking an apple and dropping into the sofa because hell if he didn't deserve one of _Colin Morgan's_ damn apples.

"Er, make yourself comfortable. My name is Sarah. I am Colin's personal assistant." Arthur looked up at her, just to take her in for a moment. She had long blonde hair that was tied up into one of those odd hairstyles girls considered fashionable. She wore jeans, skin-tight, and a white t-shirt with a black leather jacket. Red lipstick was painted onto her lips and all Arthur could think was, _not bad, Merlin. _

"Personal assistant, huh?"

"Yes. Can I get you a drink?" She moved over to a refrigerator (a storage device for food, according to Mr. White).

"No, I'm okay."

She nodded, but pulled out a water bottle anyway and set it on the table in front of Arthur. He rolled his eyes, but said nothing. She returned back to her position at the corner of the room, fidgeting uncomfortably, "So how do you know Colin?"

He hadn't actually come up with a proper story as to why he knew a superstar who lived in America. He probably should have. "Childhood friends. We haven't seen each other in several years. I heard he was going to be in town so I figured why not come see him."

"You're from Ireland?"

Since when was Merlin from Ireland? But he figured, it would make the story more realistic if he agreed so he nodded quickly.

"Strange, you have an English accent."

_Oh, shit _"Well I've spent most of my time living here."

And with that, there was dead silence. It was slightly awkward and Arthur found himself studying the pattern of the carpet just to avoid talking to Sarah. Could she see through his stories? Had he already managed to mess this up?

Just then, the door opened and Merlin entered. He took one moment to look around before he was moving towards Arthur, a smile splitting his lips. Arthur was on his feet, just feeling comfort in actually knowing someone for once. Merlin's arms were around him in a second, embracing him yet again.

When he pulled back, he was misty eyed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I actually missed you."

"I could say the same." Arthur laughed, "And trust me, it's way more shocking for me."

Merlin laughed, and Arthur had a minute to notice his painfully white teeth. They looked almost fake. Merlin turned back to his PA, "Sarah, do you think you could give us a minute?"

She glanced down to her clipboard, "Actually you need to get to sound check."

Merlin's shoulders slumped at the statement and he turned back to Arthur, "I guess we'll talk later."

Arthur nodded, "I've waited six months, I think I can wait five more minutes."

"You've been back six months?" Merlin's eyes turned pained. "I'm sorry. I should've looked for you."

"_Colin_."

Merlin turned back to his PA, looking slightly annoyed, but didn't say anything about it, other than, "Can you make sure he's given tickets for front row?"

"I don't kn-"

"Thank you," Merlin smiled and patted Arthur on the shoulder one last time before gesturing for his PA to leave. He turned back when he was in the doorway, "Sarah will come get you when it's time for the concert. You can stay here until then or come with me. It's up to you."

Arthur hesitated for a moment, considered following him, but decided against it. He shook his head, "I think I'll stay."

"Prat." And then he was gone.

Arthur laughed, throwing his head back, feeling it shake through his entire body. He remembered back to the millions of times Merlin had called him that, remembered the way Merlin had always called him insulting nicknames and somehow it had never bothered Arthur. A part of him felt so much better knowing his and Merlin's relationship hadn't changed despite the centuries.

He leaned his head back on the couch and allowed himself, for the first time, to think about what used to be. He thought of his wife and her ever-loving smile. He wondered constantly what had happened to her, if Merlin had stayed around until she had passed on or if he had left long before then. If she had ever remarried? If she had ever thought of him. He missed her, more than he ever thought possible.

He missed Merlin, too. He missed their banter and the comments of 'dollophead' and 'prat', of being argued with and hearing his wise advice. Things didn't feel the same anymore. Merlin looked so different and Arthur could only imagine why. So many things had to have happened to him in the last fifteen centuries.

Almost a hour and half later, Sarah appeared and told Arthur Merlin would be appearing on stage in ten minutes and he should take his seat in the crowd. She led him to a seat directly to the side of the stage. The entire room was dark, save for the screen, which had numerous flashing pictures and a large countdown on the top of the screen, near the ceiling. People were screaming, waving around colored sticks that glowed in the dark, their phones held up to tape the events, their faces light up in purple and orange from the spotlights

"_Pain, Joy, Betrayal, Sex, 20 Seconds, Life, Failure, Memories, Breakup, Laughter, Love, 15 seconds, Hate, Destiny, Love, Love, Love, 10 seconds."_

The screaming increased, as the final seconds counted down, the words becoming a mantra in the background. "Five….four….three…" the crowd was screaming, "ONE!"

The lights fanned out, turning the entire room white, before it went black for a simple second, and when the lights turned back on, there in the center of the stage, his silhouette enlarged on the screen behind him, was Merlin.

The crowd went insane, people screaming as loud as they possibly could, the girl beside Arthur was jumping up and down. He had already started his first song, wearing a strange looking outfit that Arthur had never really seen before. He looked around, raising his eyebrows at the strange reactions of all the girls all around him.

Merlin moved forward on the stage, setting the microphone stand down, grabbing onto it and stepping to the side, tilting the microphone to sing into it.

Arthur didn't quite understand all the words he was singing, but all the people next to him seemed to be singing along to the lyrics as if they knew them by heart. Merlin was only a few feet away from him at this point and his eyes cast down into the crowd, catching Arthur's eyes for a second. He smiled wide, ending his song on a high note and then taking a large breath. He pushed his hand back through his hair and raised a hand to wave at the crowd.

"Hello UK! Are you guys ready for tonight?"

The crowd screamed back and Arthur jumped. He really didn't like how noisy this generation was. It was just annoying.

Merlin started on another song, three girls dancing behind him, mimicking his own dance moves. It was so strange, out of this world strange, to see his manservant there, in front of hundreds of people and knowing every single one of those people were here to see Merlin.

_Don't be so quick to walk away, dance with me_

_I wanna rock your body, please stay, dance with me_

Arthur felt pain hit him in the core. The feeling of being lost sinking back into his stomach. Everything was different. Merlin was on stage, _singing, performing_. He knew this was no place to have a panic attack, but these panic attacks were beginning to become so familiar for him.

_So go ahead, girl, just do_

_That ass shaking thing you do_

_So you grab your girls and you grab a couple more_

_And you all can meet me in the middle of the floor_

The video of Merlin on the screen behind him showed the actual details of Merlin. The way his hair was perfectly gelled to look messy, or how his fingers were clenched white around the microphone, or how tired he looked if you knew the signs to look for.

There was a girl on him, a microphone in her hand, as she stopped in front of him, her hands on his waist as she dipped in front of him. _Talk to me boy,_

Merlin looked towards the crowd, "_Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song"_

Arthur almost went into shock when he heard Merlin singing that. Merlin was a lot of things, mostly an idiot, but sexual was the last thing he had ever associated with Merlin. In fact, to him, Merlin was a complete virgin, never been kissed, and yet, here he was, singing bout having some girl naked.

Of course, if Arthur had known that that was gonna be the least sexual thing about Merlin's performance, he might have thought differently.

The rest of the performance included several songs all with various amounts of sexual innuendos and Merlin basically dry humping a girl on stage, something this generation called 'grinding'. One girl had even attempted it on him mid-performance and it had turned Arthur into a blabbering, blushing mess. What was wrong with these people!?

He had managed to learn, however, that his manservant was far from untalented. He could sing and sure as hell could dance. And he was still in shock from at all.

"Thank you and good night! I love you all!" And Merlin was waving and the stage was swallowing him whole.

Sarah appeared a few minutes later, which caused a whole lot more screaming, and pulled him out of the crowd and back stage. She led him down a bland hallway, back to the room he had sat in before the show. She opened the door, ushering him inside, before closing the door.

Merlin was standing there, still in the outfit he had worn on stage, his hair a sweaty mess, but he was smiling, until he saw Arthur's face.

"What the hell was that?"

Merlin frowned, "Excuse me?"

"You can dance? And sing?"

"Ye-"

"And you're a sorcerer." Arthur finished. "And since when did girls scream over you?"

"Ok, first off, you can't say that kind of stuff around here," Merlin moved towards the door, locking it before facing Arthur again, "Magic is even more forbidden than it was during the Great Purge."

"What?" Arthur shook his head.

"There's no such thing as sorcery anymore. It's all illusions, not real magic. Real magic hasn't been used in years, decades even."

"You," he jabbed a finger at Merlin, "don't have magic anymore?"

"I do, I do. And I use it, I mean I have to, to stay young." He shrugged like it was the most simple concept in the world and moved over to the mirror, grabbing a towel and wiping his face off.

"That reminds me, you're immortal?" Arthur scoffed, catching Merlin's eyes in the reflection of the mirror, "How much more have you hid from me? How many more lies have you told me?"

Merlin leaned forward on the table and dropped his head, letting out a laugh, "Only you, Arthur. Only you, after not seeing each other for years would manage to bring up the one thing I've been trying to forget."

"It hasn't been centuries for me, Merlin. It's been months and I've had nothing but time to think about it and I just can't fathom why you wo-"

"Damn it, Arthur!" He slammed his fist down on the table and Arthur jumped. Never in a million years had Arthur ever seen Merlin break or show any sign of anger, "I haven't seen you in over fifteen centuries! I don't want to talk about this right now."

Arthur was silent for a moment before he nodded. Merlin was right. Now was no time to pick an argument. "I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I just have so many questions."

"And we have all the time in the world to answer them, but right now," Merlin turned around, approaching Arthur, "I have questions for you."

"Okay," said Arthur.

"You said six months. Before the show, you said six months. Where have you been? Why didn't you contact me?"

Arthur scoffed, "Well I don't know if you exactly noticed, _Mer_lin, but I'm not from this time period. I didn't even know what a phone number was until four weeks ago. And even then, I couldn't find a number for you."

"I guess that is true."

"I didn't know who you were until two days ago. You using a different name threw me off, it's by pure chance I found you."

"Yeah…"

"Yeah, you didn't exactly think that part through did you, Merlin?"

"No, I didn't. And you have to stop calling me that. I'm Colin now," Merlin walked over to a wardrobe, yanking off the silly fabric that was wrapped around his neck (a tie) and unbuttoning his shirt, "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

Arthur didn't say anything and Merlin turned back to look at him.

"Good, you can stay with me. I have a car waiting out back."

And with that, he turned back to the wardrobe and stripped of his shirt, revealing not only his toned shoulders, but the tattoos covering his skin. He glanced over his shoulder at Arthur, as if he could sense Arthur studying the tattoos on his shoulders, and Arthur was once again left to think about how drastically different things were and how he felt so out of place.


End file.
